From what I read the child climbed through a Hedge over a 3 ft wall and into the ditch .

Wow seriously? And in all that time the parent didn't even notice?

And what about all the other people? No one saw this kid and thought "Wow where are the parents I should stop him before something bad happens"? Amazing.

Shame the parents couldn't manage to look after their sprog and that a beautiful and rare animal had to lose his life totally unnecessarily. I don't blame the child, or the gorilla but fairly and squarely the parents. Anyone with half a brain knows that most children are fascinated by these animals and being able to get close to them ... you have to be hyper-vigilant in a place like a zoo where kids can do something stupid through curiosity.

There was absolutely no need for them to shoot him, from what I could see he was making sure the child was OK. There was nothing in his body lanuage to indicate he wished any harm to the child, probably wondered how one fell out of the sky like that. Apparently they called the gorilla and he failed to respond, so they shot him, my girls do that all the time, so I'll shoot them as well next time shall I.

N-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o Juney!!

Now you mention it though, my grandson can be slow to respond ... maybe a quick blast would sharpen his response up a bit!!

Joking apart, it really is absolutely appalling in this day and age.

Several witnesses heard the child keep saying he wanted to go and play with the gorillas, now anyone in their right mind would have immediately made sure that child went nowhere, instead he went to play with the gorillas as he wanted. I think I've read the mother has 6 children, that was her excuse as to why the kid ended up in the water with an endangered silver back gorilla fishing him out, she was too busy with the other 5 to notice exactly what her kid was up to.
Nikki a quick blast with a 12 bore and your grandson will surely take notice

Are you sure? Think Alfie may be tougher than that!!!

O God, another stupid woman having more kids than she has the sense for ... and an endangered animal senselessly shot by other human idiots. That poor gorilla - absolutely no need to have killed him, I hope the zoo are prosecuted and fined a fortune.

Well they won't will they, Americans carry guns as a 'right' and every day somewhere a child/teenager/adult is shot and killed, the death toll is horrendous, but they hang onto that 'right' So the death of a gorilla will be as nothing to them

I think it's tragic , and I hold the parents responsible for this, but to be honest my sympathies go to the zoo, what a horrendous decision they had to make.

It's all very well to say the gorilla was protecting the boy, and he would not do any harm, how on earth can we say that, even unintentionally the gorilla could have killed the child.

The zoo keepers know these animals better than we do, they had to take action fast.... They managed to call off the two females, let's not forget silverbacks kill any young that is not their own...can anyone say this gorilla could not at some point have done something that resulted in the boy's death.

They were damned if they did and would have been equally damned if they did not act, can you imagine if the child was killed, the outcry then.

Such a magnificent creature lost its life due to irresponsible parents, and possible the zoos lack of security.

A sad sad loss.

P.s...the gorillas keeper has just been on the tv, he said the gorilla would have been confused by the boy, thinking, what to do , fight it, play with it...he said it would not have know, what to do, and given that and what they understand of the species, they acted in the only way they could .

Yeah I saw the man, he was in total shock. Feel so sorry for him,what a thing to happen when you have brought up any animal from a baby,like losing a child isn't it.